Sustainable land privatization involving participatory land use planning in rural areas. An example from Tanzania

Land ownership is a key issue for rural development in Africa. Are the rural communities in the margins or the centre of discussion on land issues? The Tanzanian model of land tenure arrangements empowers local people. It combines community and private ownership and also includes preparation of a Village Land Use Plan (VLUP) by villagers together with professionals. It facilitates economic development by separating and defining specific areas for land use activities that formerly overlapped. This reduces conflicts between different stakeholders by securing the land ownership not only of villagers but also of investors (who pay the VLUP). According to the National Land Use Plan Committee, the VLUP process has provided dramatically better environmental management in the villages. However, the VLUP process is too slow, due to a lack of government support. This has created an open access situation which has caused extensive misuse of forests and natural resources, environmental degradation and land grabbing.